News :: [none]

Were Marching With PRIDE--& ANGER!!

Author

Chicago Anti-Bashing Network

Date Created

20 Jun 2001

Date Edited

21 Jun 2001

Rating

Current rating: 0

In case after case police attack our community and the authorities do nothing to discipline, let alone criminally prosecute the cops. At this Sunday's Gay Pride Parade a joint contingent of the Chicago Anti-Bashing Network, Queer to the Left, and Sangat will be marching to protest Gay-bashing by Chicago police--rated #1 in Gay-bashing according to a recent study.

In case after case police attack our community and the authorities do nothing to discipline, let alone criminally prosecute the cops. At this years Gay Pride Parade a joint contingent of the Chicago Anti-Bashing Network, Queer to the Left, and Sangat will be marching to protest Gay-bashing by Chicago police.

We will be joined by a host of other non-Gay organizations representing other communities targeted by police violence. Whether you are gay or non-gay, we invite YOU to join us:

 Chicago law enforcement ranked #1 in Gay-bashing, with the highest percentage of police offenders of the 11 metropolitan areas covered by the latest study from the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, the most respected report documenting violence against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered people in the U.S.

 According to figures derived from the study, individual police officers in Chicago were 30 times more likely to commit a Gay-bashing than individual civilians.

Consider the faces of anti-Gay law enforcement violence:

 Terry Phalen, gay-bashed by Cook County jail guards. An internal Sheriff's Department investigation found three sheriff's deputies guilty of beating up Phalen and lying about it to investigators. No criminal charges against the sheriffs were ever filed and they continue to be employed.

 Jeffrey Lyons, the son of Chicago police officer killed in the line of duty, was brutally attacked by several off-duty officers outside of a West Side "cop" bar. Even though Lyons is not gay, he was perceived to be such when he embraced a friend outside the bar. Officers fleeing the scene attempted to run down Lyons's friend with their vehicles. No criminal charges against the police were ever filed and they continue to be employed.

 Frederick Mason, Jr., an African-American Gay man attacked by police who jammed a billie club up his rectum in the interrogation room of a West Side police station. Racist and homophobic slurs by the cops preceeded the attack. No criminal charges against the police were ever filed and they continue to be employed.

 Kentin Waits, a Gay man, was roughed up and beaten by cops at the Belmont & Western police station. No criminal charges against the police were ever filed and they continue to be employed.

 Lyons' and Mason's cases were the focus of a first-ever Amnesty International report on Gay-bashing by police in the United States in February...but still the City refuses to act.

Enough is enough! Please join us in solidarity with ALL victims of police misconduct and brutality -- 1 p.m. sharp, Sunday, June 24, southwest corner of Halsted and Belmont. As some 200,000+ attend each years parade, we strongly urge that you take public transportation -- take the Red Line el to the Belmont stop and walk three blocks east to the intersection with Halsted. For more information, please call CABN at 773.878.3697 or 888.471.0874.